Overview: Behavior Change in Local System to Mitigate Ocean Plastic Pollution in Vietnam

 Ocean plastic pollution is among the world’s greatest environmental challenges. In Vietnam, decades of rapid economic growth, industrialization, and urbanization have led to significant rises in solid waste generation, but the country’s waste management systems have not kept pace with this growth.

Launched in 2016, USAID’s Municipal Waste Recycling Program (MWRP) aims to reduce land-based sources of ocean plastic pollution through improved solid waste management (SWM) and recycling in Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. MWRP has provided over 30 grants to local organizations, providing an important laboratory for testing and learning from a variety of solutions to this challenge in different contexts.

In 2019, USAID commissioned Urban Institute to conduct a case study on how two MWRP grantees in Vietnam addressed plastic pollution through behavior change tactics. The case study examines how project contexts enabled or constrained behavior change and elevates lessons for future policies and programs.